The Wellesley Lions Club is once again putting on a fiesta to remember courtesy of its third annual Taco Night this Saturday. On the menu is a family-friendly event with live music, dancing, and a specially prepared selection of all-you-can-eat dishes to round out the night.
More than an opportunity to meet and mingle with neighbours, the event is also a fundraiser for the local service club, with the dollars raised getting put right back into projects in the community.
“We’re coming into our third year of the event, and just keeping the momentum going,” said Wellesley Lions acting president Blair Kressman. “The last few years, we found it was extremely well received, and last year our move to make it an all you-can-eat event was pretty successful.”
The meal is being prepared by the Steve Doiron, the former chef at the Odd Duck food truck. For the meat-lovers, Doiron will be making smoked brisket, smoked chicken and pulled pork, while a vegetarian dish of bean and corn will be part of the offerings.
“It’s a family-friendly event with games and crafts for the kids, live music from Mike Lightheart. He’s a local performer connected to the community,” said Kressman.
“We’ll have Spanish music, some good fiesta hits playing as well. And then we’re actually going to feature some ‘learn how to do some salsa dancing’ with our Lion’s members. And then we’ll also do our annual piñata for the kids, to make sure they get a good sugar fix before the end of the night.”
On tap will be Cowbell’s Absent Landlord craft beer, as well as Coronas and tequila to complement the festivities. The only wildcard in this arrangement will be the weather, which Kressman hopes will better resemble the temperate Mexican climate.
“There’s a nice mix of stuff for everyone to come out and have a nice community event on a hopefully – hopefully – a nice sunny evening,” he said. The event will be held indoors, however, so a bit of rain is unlikely to put a damper on the party.
The funds raised from the event will be put towards the Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region. The Wellesley Lions committed to donate $5,000 a year over three years to support the organization, which last year completed its first ever home in Wellesley village.
“We’re in our final year of our three year commitment to the Habitat for Humanity project in Wellesley. The proceeds from this event are going towards our commitment to that project, which was a $15,000 commitment to the Habitat project in Wellesley.”
With the Wellesley Lions’ commitment soon to be completed, Kressman says the club will be looking at what other projects in the township they can support.
“So it’s a pretty big project. And I think once we’re done this commitment to the Habitat project, we’re excited to hopefully move on to a new project in the community. We’ve got a lots of options with what’s going on with the Wellesley Pond restoration, as well as the new recreation property that was purchased on the edge town,” he said, referring to the 40-acre property at Queen’s Bush and Hutchison roads.
The Township of Wellesley hopes to turn the land into a park, with construction on the initial stages expected to start this summer.
Kressman points to the Wellesley Apple Butter and Cheese Festival, which recently made a $20,000 commitment towards the parkland project, and says he sees a similar opportunity for the Wellesley Lions to contribute as well.
“Lots of opportunities,” he noted.
The Wellesley Lions Taco is this Saturday, June 1, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Wellesley Community Centre. Tickets for the event are $20 for adults, and $5 for children 12-and-under, and may be purchased at Pym’s Village Market, the Wellesley Esso, The Town Barker, and online at Eventbrite.ca.
